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Sarah McElhaney, LMFT

Thank you for taking the time to read more about me and my practice.  I am a licensed marriage and family therapist that provides therapy to individuals (including adolescents), couples and families who are going through the many things life can present any of us, including life transitions and changes, stress, anxiety, depression, loss, and the challenges that come with relationships as well as the desire to improve them, including marital/couple, family, and parenting.  I also provide supervision to therapists working towards their independent licensure.  

 

I am quite fortunate to have been able to work in the family services field for over 20 years and as a therapist for nearly 15 years.  I initially started out working with mostly children and adolescents -- at-promise youth in after-school programming, then adolescents and their parents in residential treatment.  As an early therapist, I continued to work with children and adolescents and provided intensive therapy in family homes, as well as outpatient care providing individual, family, and group therapy.  In more recent years, my client focus has been adolescents, adults and couples. 

I am a lifelong learner and grateful to be part of this world of healing.  Outside of my formal education and training, I also appreciate the learning that occurs from the other skilled mental health professionals that I work alongside.  I strive for my approach to be grounded, relationally-mindful, collaborative, and experiential.  I am so appreciative of the clients that have entrusted me along the way. 

Outside of work, I enjoy time with my family the most.  Being a spouse and parent of two kiddos and one pup keeps me busy and filled with joy.  I also enjoy yoga, being close to nature, cooking new and family favorite recipes, traveling, playing cards, spending time with friends, and streaming a good show. 

 

Education: 

Bachelor of Arts Psychology and Bachelor of Arts Family Services at the University of Northern Iowa in 2007 

Master of Science Human Development-Marriage & Family Therapy at Virginia Tech in 2010 

Licensure / Memberships 

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), State of Iowa, 2013-present 

American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy (AAMFT), Clinical Member, 2008-present 

American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy (AAMFT), AAMFT, Supervisor Candidate 2023-present 

Awarded CityView’s Best of Des Moines “Best Local Mental Health Therapist”, 2022 

 

Additional Training  

  • Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT) 

  • Gottman Method Couples Therapy 

  • Relational Life Therapy (RLT) 

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) 

  • Reiki 

  • Financial Therapy 

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I look forward to connecting, and how I and our excellent team at Willow Grove Therapy Group can support you.  To set up an initial appointment, please reach out to our intake coordinator, Danielle, at (515) 984-0225 or intake@willowgrovetherapy.com.

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